Downtown will go ape over Grilla Bites

Brian Garcia was such a fan of Grilla Bites in Chico that he ate there nearly every time his commute for his work with building developers took him to the Chico area. 

In fact, he so liked Grilla Bites’ organic and natural grilled sandwiches, soups and salads that he started bugging Fred Marken, the chain’s owner, to open a Grilla Bites in Redding. Garcia said that Markens had another idea.

“He said to me, ‘Why don’t YOU open a Grilla Bites in Redding?’ “

Actually, the story isn’t quite that simple.

Redding was the place that Garcia and his wife enjoyed visiting so much that they referred to it as their “someday” retirement place.

Someday came knocking sooner than expected. They moved to Redding after Garcia’s wife became ill. When she died last year, Garcia decided that the lifestyle of commuting long distances wasn’t a good option, not with the couple’s 5-year-old daughter to raise.

Suddenly, Grilla Bites wasn’t just an interesting concept for Garcia. It was a way to have a flexible, family-friendly business that allowed him to remain close to his daughter in Redding. 

Garcia is now remodeling a space in the far north end of The Mall in downtown Redding, inside Market Street Square for Grilla Bites. His business neighbors include the Village Schoolhouse toy store,  Shasta College Health Sciences Center and Fasolini’s Pizza.

                               

 I met Garcia inside his empty building last week.

Garcia’s voice echoed around the vast, vacant building as he described what his upcoming Grilla Bites will look like.

“All this will be the dining room,” he said, with a sweep of his arm around the nearly 3,000-square-foot area.

“Back here will be the kitchen, and I know we’ll have one, maybe even two fireplaces. And outside is the patio. It’s almost 800 square feet.”

Excuse me? A real restaurant patio? In downtown Redding? Not just a designated sidewalk sliver?

It’s true. The city of Redding said OK. Here’s the drawing. Notice the trees, planters, tables, chairs and an ornate railing.

This patio is one of Garcia’s favorite parts of his new restaurant.

Garcia can vividly imagine daytime foot traffic from Shasta College students, hospital employees and downtown office workers, but he also imagines people gravitating downtown, especially in the summer, in the evening.

“I can even see people walking from my place after dinner through The Mall to the Cascade Theatre,” he said. “I’ve only been here a year, but I’m excited about what’s happening downtown.” 

Local trivia: Garcia’s space, located at the corner of Tehama and Market streets, was the former footprint of the Temple Hotel, a luxury, historical hotel built in the 1800s. It was bulldozed in the mid-’60s.)

 Grilla Bites is known for its fresh, organic grilled sandwiches, soups and salads, but the menu is not your basic sandwich shop: Curry Tofu Grilla, Portabella Grilla Burger, Wild Salmon Grilla Burger and the Blue Bacon Burger. Garcia’s Grilla Bites will also sell fresh baked organic and vegan treats, desserts and pastries, and an array of specialy raw juice combinations, fruit smoothies, “frappes”, organic, fair-trade coffees and teas and, as much as possible, local wines and beers.  The Redding Grilla Bites will join six other Grilla Bites (three in Chico, one in Ashland, one in Medford and one in Snohomish, Wash.).